About Cantaria
What is Cantaria?
In medieval Latin means "chantry." Flourishing throughout the Middle
Ages and Renaissance, chantries were endowments for the singing of masses
for the souls of
the dead. Endowed as either separate institutions or chapels attached to a
parish church
or cathedral, chantries often provided for a priest in perpetuity whose sole
function was
to pray for the benefactors' souls. Chantries thus represented permanent
repositories of
song and memory.
creates a similar permanent repository, dedicated to the
traditional songs (rather than
the souls) of Western Europe (from the Middle Ages to modern times), modern
songs written in traditional style, and of course traditional singers and
song
enthusiasts the world over. is a collection of bardic music: period,
traditional, new-traditional
and filk. The archive was inspired by the designers' passion for this genre
of music and
their desire to further the understanding and enjoyment of these songs for
both performers
and patrons.
Singers of traditional Western European song, particularly in America,
Australia and other parts of the world where the songs have immigrated, are
challenged
when learning their art by the lack of printed music to accompany period
lyrics and the
lack (or geographical dispersion) of other knowledgeable singers to pass on
songs in the
traditional manner. attempts to mitigate those difficulties by wedding
modern
technology with oral tradition. Using multimedia and interactive web
technologies, these songs
can be passed on the way they were meant to be: from singer to singer via
performance.
The songs contained in the collection are presented with the full text of
their lyrics, and in some cases with known variations. Some of the very
oldest songs, such
as Hind Horn and The Twa Sisters, have far too many distinct versions to
include here. In
such cases that will be noted. Before the text of each song there may be
some comments
about the history of the song and performance notes.
Since the history of the Period songs is significant to the the songs
themselves, we
have tried to find as much historical information as we can. Unfortunately,
it is often
very sparse, especially for songs that have become popularized through
commercial
recordings. We welcome any additional information you may have about any of
the songs
included in Cantaria. Citations from documented sources are especially
helpful.
Use this form to contact us.
Organization
We have endeavored to organize
the library so that it's easy to use and understand, and useful for finding
particular types of songs or songs dealing with specific subjects. More
categories will be
added as we acquire songs to fit them. If you have a suggestion for a
category we have
overlooked, let us know.
Cantaria's songs are divided into three main mutually exclusive categories:
Pre-1600,
Traditional, and Contemporary. Pre-1600 songs are authentic and documented
works from
pre-1600 (or very shortly thereafter) and dates are included. We chose this
date because
it also happens to be the definition of "period" for the questionable
vintage or origin or of period (pre-1600) style but without documentation.
Contemporary songs are written by present-day bards in period or non-period
style and
represent the living folk tradition as it grows and carries on this
wonderful genre of
music.
The above categories are the only mutually exclusive groupings in Cantaria.
All songs
are included in one of these, and may be included in several of the subject
categories, as
applicable. All songs are included in the alphabetical listing by title and
the index of
first lines.
The recordings
The audio files in were primarily edited in
Some songs in have both short and long sound clips, the intention being for
users to get a small taste of the song without having to wait overly long
for the file to
download. If you liked it and want to hear more, then get the larger file.
The recordings are mainly available in MP3
files, but some still have WAV files. We have migrated to MP3 format as
support for it has grown. Compression and quality are very good.
All our files are scanned for viruses before they are posted. You will NOT
get
a virus from downloading our recordings.
Who is Cantaria?
is designed and maintained by endeavor, completely supported by the
designers.
Scott, a bard of many years in the Society for Creative Anachronism, has
provided
many of the digital recordings for Cantaria. He studied Medieval and
Renaissance
History at the University of Houston, although he left after attaining his
M.A. to pursue a job with his other love - computers.
Kate, only a shower-bard herself, has a passionate interest for music,
history, art,
and literature of the middle ages, as well as love for traditional folk
music of all
times. She has been publishing on the Web since 1993 and is currently the
webmaster for owns Chivalry Music, which offers web
site design, marketing and promotion services to musicians.
In combining their talents to create Cantaria, Scott and Kate hope to
provide a
valuable resource for bards and all folk who enjoy and wish to keep alive
the traditional
music of western Europe.
If you enjoy and find it a useful and valuable resource,
tell
us! Or, if you find problems or have suggestions for improvement, tell us
that, too -- but please try to be helpful, not just critical. We really
do appreciate helpful feedback. Nothing keeps us motivated to keep
building the site like "warm fuzzies!" :)
Thanks! Kate and Scott